A Legend Reborn
by TheDodger55
Summary: The team looks for the one and only Jersey Devil. Little do they know what lurks in the darkness of the New Jersey Pine Barrens. Rated T just to be safe.
1. A Legend Retold

At Jackie's house, on Animal Planet, a "Lost Tapes" marathon was on. "Lost Tapes" is a show that shows peoples experiences face- to- face with cryptids. As they watched the Death Raptor episode, KC started getting scared.

"Okay," she began, "this is really creeping me out."

"Want me to hold your hand?" Riley asked jokingly. KC elbowed him laughing. After the episode, Jackie turned off the T.V.

"Okay," she said, "I think that's enough."

"You're scared aren't you, Jackie?" asked Sam.

"No." Jackie replied trying to cover up her fear. "I just don't want my friends having nightmares."

"Of course you don't." said Zack seeing through her lie.

"Wouldn't it be cool if we could hunt one of those things?" asked Riley.

"I guess." replied Zack with interest.

"I mean, go to a place where creatures have been spotted, get the evidence, and we're good."

"That would be cool." said KC. "But wouldn't it be dangerous? Look at the people on the show, they were killed."

"Yeah." said Sam. "What if that happens to us?"

"Don't worry about it." Riley said. "I know a place where a creature barely even comes out. He usually keeps to himself. But whenever he feels threatened, he'll attack. All we have to do is not show him any harm and he'll leave us alone. Easy."

"And what creature would that be?" asked Jackie nervous.

"The Jersey Devil." Riley said in a creepy tone trying to scare them.

"The Jersey what?" asked Zack.

"The Jersey Devil." Riley repeated. "A creature that was cursed when it was born. You see, a woman named Mother Leeds had 12 children, when she found out she was gonna have a 13th child, she cried out in frustration, "Let it be the devil!", and so it was."

"That's just cruel." said KC.

"On a dark and particularly stormy night, Mother Leeds was in labor. She was in pain, and then, when the baby came out, it was normal, blonde hair, blue eyes, but then…the transformation began. His head turned into the head of a horse, legs into the hooves of a goat, hands into claws, tail of a serpent, wings of a bat, and to top it all off, horns of a devil. He flew around the house scaring everyone, ate all of Mother Leeds other children, and flew out the window into the Pine Barrens." Riley continued.

"That is really creepy." said Jackie.

"It is said that people see the devil every now and again. But no one has ever been brave enough to go into the Pine Barrens alone without a guide. So, what do you think? Pretty good story, huh?" Riley asked finishing up the story.

"Yeah, lovely. Okay, let's talk about something else now!" KC said clapping her hands trying to change the subject.

"So, you're saying, that you want us to look for the creature and catch it on tape?" asked Sam.

"Technically, yes," Riley replied, "but I just want you guys to see what can happen. I want to see what these guys saw on the show."

"Riley, that Hellhound could've been a dog with bad eyes." said Jackie.

"Then where'd the smoke come from?" Riley asked trying to prove her wrong.

"Well…uh…okay you got me there." Jackie said giving up. "You think we can actually catch this thing?"

"I think it sounds pretty cool, unfortunately." said KC trying to be supportive of Riley's idea.

"We have enough gear." said Zack.

"And, there's a haunted church right by there. So we'll check out the woods first, then the church." said Riley.

"Maybe the Jersey Devil haunts the church." said KC.

"Probably." said Sam.

"Well, next week is spring break, so we'll just go then." said Riley.

"I don't know, Riley." KC said scared.

"KC," Riley began, "as a team, we stick together. I promise I'll do everything I can to keep you safe." He held out his hand hoping that she would take it.

"Okay, Riley," KC agreed after a long pause, "I'm with you." She took his hand after she finished.

"Alright!" Sam cheered. "Let's go hunt for a devil!"

**A/N: So, what do you think? Pretty cool, huh? I do not own the show "Lost Tapes" or "The Othersiders". Please comment!**


	2. A Long Flight

Spring break, for the team, it was a time for a glorious adventure. KC and Jackie were just finishing packing until KC's phone rang.

"Hello?" she asked.

"I'm going to find you, KC…" said a mysterious caller.

"Who are you? What do you mean?"

"I have many names. But my most famous name is…The Devil."

"Good to know. See you, Riley."

"Bye, KC…wait…No! I am the Jersey Devil!"

"Give it up, dude."

"How'd you know it was me?"

"Either I'm telepathic, we're closer than I thought, or Caller I.D!"

"I should've thought this one through."

"No kidding."

"So…I'll see you in a few."

"Okay, see you."

"Bye." Jackie came into KC's room after KC hung up on Riley.

"Who was that?" asked Jackie.

"Riley trying to be funny again." KC replied.

"Will he ever stop?"

"Probably not. You ready to go?"

"Yep." Jackie replied getting her purse. "Come on, Riley's coming soon." 15 minutes later, Riley rang the doorbell for the girls to come out. Jackie and KC brought their luggage to the car and put it in the trunk. Before they got in the car, Sam and Zack tried to scare them.

"ROAR!" they both yelled. KC and Jackie jumped and Sam and Zack fell back in their seats laughing. A couple hours later going through traffic, they made their way inside LAX and going through airport security. After an hour of waiting, they gave their tickets to the flight attendant and sat on the plane. Zack got a row all to himself, Sam and Jackie took a row, and Riley and KC took their row. When they finally took off, they had to wait several minutes for electronics to be usable. It was going to be a 5 hour flight so they had to do everything they can to keep themselves occupied. Jackie took out her laptop to do more research about the creature.

"Watcha doing?" asked Sam.

"Looking up information, pictures, gonna watch the "Lost Tapes" episode for the Jersey Devil." replied Jackie.

"They have an episode for that?"

"Yeah, you wanna see it?"

"Full screen please." As the flight attendant came to get their drink orders, Riley was busy reading a book about cryptids.

"Wow, Riley," said KC, "you're a believer in cryptids, but a skeptic when it comes to ghosts."

"I'm weird like that." Riley said when he stopped at a chapter that talked about Skinwalkers.

"I wonder what Zack's doing." As they looked over at Zack, he was fast asleep listening to his iPod. Riley decided to share his book with KC. She seemed pretty interested with the Skinwalker. After a couple hours, they finished reading about the Hellhound, Death Raptor, and the Mothman. Sam was helping Jackie with the research and found a picture of the creature.

"Hey, KC and Riley." Sam said taking the laptop. They both looked up from the book and Sam quickly brought the picture in front of their faces.

"Oh my gosh!" KC screamed. She hid her face in Riley's arm. Sam and Jackie started laughing. KC looked up and saw Riley looking at her. She was happy that he wasn't laughing. She took out her iPod and shared one of her earphones with Riley. The soothing melody of the music soon lulled her to sleep. Unknowingly, she laid her head on Riley's shoulder, Riley didn't notice. About a half hour later, Riley fell asleep. Then, an hour later, some turbulence hit the plane and it woke Riley up. Riley then noticed KC on his shoulder and smiled. He gently laid his head on hers. He looked out the window and saw them over New Jersey. He saw the Pine Barrens under them.

"KC," he said gently nudging her, "look."

"What?" she asked waking up. She looked out the window and saw the trees. "Whoa."

"What's going on?" asked Jackie.

"Look out the window." Riley replied. Sam and Jackie looked out the window and saw everything.

"Wow." said Sam surprised. "Hey, Zack, look at this." Sam threw a bag of peanuts at him to wake him up. Zack woke up and saw the Pine Barrens.

"Wow, it's so big. You think we can find this creature?"

"I know we can." said Riley confident. As they landed, they got their luggage, and rented a car. Riley drove to a nearby hotel. As they checked in, they got their room keys and headed up to their rooms.

"Okay," said Riley, "you girls are right here, and we're right next door." Riley handed Jackie the room key and she and KC got into their room.

"I know this is gonna be really creepy, but really fun." said Jackie putting her luggage on her bed.

"Yeah." said KC. "I have an idea, let's watch a movie with the guys."

"Okay." Jackie said. "Let's go." as they got to the guys room, they told them that they should watch a movie to get their mind off of this creature.

"But," said Riley, "there's a "Ghost Adventures" marathon on."

"Yeah," said Jackie, "that does sound kinda better." They turned the T.V. channel to the Travel Channel and started watching.

"Let's take a look at the competition." said KC plopping on Riley's bed.

"Alright." said Riley lying next to her. The marathon went on until 10:00 pm. At the same time, there was a lightning storm, something KC wasn't a fan of. She looked at the rest of the team and they were fast asleep.

"Riley," KC said nudging him, "wake up."

"Hm?" Riley asked yawning. "What's going on?"

"I-I'm kinda scared." KC said. Riley sighed, opened his arms, and KC went into them. Riley took out his MP3 Player and the music soon lulled them to sleep. Outside of their room was the Pine Barrens, and right by the window were red glowing eyes.

**A/N: And there you have it. I do not own "Ghost Adventures".**


	3. Morning Commute

The next morning, the team was dead asleep thanks to the marathon. The rain was gone and a sunny morning took its place. Around 9:07am, Riley was talking in his sleep until, accidentally, KC put her hand on his face.

"KC." Riley muffled. "KC, wake up!" Riley was laughing now.

"10 more minutes, Mom." KC said still half asleep. She fluttered her eyes open and yawned. "Oh, hey, Riley. Are the rest up yet?"

"We've been up." said Jackie standing by Riley's bed. Sam and Zack were with her.

"You 2 look so cute." said Sam.

"What are you talking about?" asked Riley. He finally remembered that KC was lying right next to him. "WHOA!" Riley fell to the ground with a thud. Zack burst out laughing. "Not cool, man! Not cool!"

"Come on," said Jackie, "let's get some breakfast." She, Sam, and Zack left the room leaving KC and Riley alone.

"Thanks for comforting me last night during the storm." KC said.

"No problem. Friends happen to do that kind of thing." said Riley getting up from the floor. "Come on, let's join the group." After breakfast, the team decided to do research on the haunted church right by the Pine Barrens.

"When should we check that out?" asked Sam.

"Maybe we should do a walk through today and talk to the pastor." said Riley.

"Yeah," said Sam, "we could get some information."

"Alright, it's settled." said Riley closing the laptop. They all got up, left the hotel, and made their way to the church. A half hour later, they got in front of the church and walked in. As they walked in the church, strong organ music could be heard. When they got to the aisle, Riley took his arm out for KC to take it.

"Oh my gosh, Riley." KC laughed. When they all got to the altar, the organ music stopped.

"You called the pastor right?" asked Zack.

"Yeah," replied Riley, "he said he was here." Then, all of a sudden, an elderly woman came from around the corner.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Riley!" KC whispered as she and the team moved away from her. The woman ran to them.

"You must leave. No one is safe here." the woman said panicked.

"Erica." said the pastor coming towards them. He took Erica's hand and led her down the altar. "Now just go home, and get some rest."

"Yes, thank you." said Erica leaving. The pastor waited until the door shut behind her.

"Sorry about that." said the pastor walking up the altar. "I'm Pastor Barry, thank you for coming."

"Thanks, we just want information on the hauntings here." said Riley shaking his hand.

"Well, the hauntings here are people feeling a demonic presence. They describe a creature with a horse head, wings, and horns with glowing red eyes."

"The Jersey Devil." said KC.

"Well, yes." said Barry. "There have been many sightings and encounters with the creature. Erica, who you've just met, is an example. She claimed that when she first saw the creature, it stalked her until she got home. Now she claims it happens every Sunday."

"Do you think there's an explanation for this?" asked Zack.

"I believe that she could be over reacting a little bit, but, she's never let it go. Any more questions?"

"No, sir, that's all we need." said Riley. When they left the church, KC was whispering to Riley.

"Do you think it's true of what happened to Erica?" she asked.

"I don't know." Riley replied as he opened the car door. "But I don't like where this is going." As they drove off, on the roof of the church, a winged creature was looking down at them.


	4. Being Watched

The rest of the car ride back to the hotel was silent. Riley turned on the radio to get their mind off of what happened.

"Riley," KC began, "don't you have this feeling like we're being watched?"

"What do you mean?" Riley asked.

"Like, ever since we came here, I've had this feeling like something, or someone, doesn't want us here."

"Nah, you're probably just scared. We all are, but it'll soon be over. Tomorrow, we're going to meet a guide to take us into the Pine Barrens."

"Can that person be trusted?" asked Jackie from the back seat.

"Yep," Riley replied, "talked to her right when we arrived here." When they arrived back to the hotel, they decided to go to the restaurant for lunch. As they took their seats, Zack looked nervous.

"What's on your mind, dude?" asked Sam.

"You remember that elderly woman, Erica, right?" asked Zack.

"What about her?"

"Like, what KC said about someone not wanting us here. You think that's her?"

"I don't think so." said Jackie. "You heard Barry, she over reacted back there. She's just a confused old woman."

"Although," Riley interupted, "I do think it's strange how much of a fuss she put up. It's weird how one thing can take over your life."

"Well, this creature is kinda considered dangerous to most people." KC said.

"I don't argue with that, but, I believe that people just believe what they hear. They probably don't go out and see for themselves."

"They probably don't wanna die, Riley."

"Okay, look, we have a lot of time before the investigation. So let's all just calm down, forget Erica, and just have fun with it."

"Riley's right." said Zack. "Sorry I brought it up."

"It's okay," said Jackie, "we're glad you did. Erica is a strange person and we should keep an eye out for her." After the waiter took their orders and ate, they decided to go to the guys room to watch a movie.

"So many movies, so little time." said Riley flipping through the channels.

"Hey, that "Harry Potter" movie is on." said Sam.

"Which one?"

"Number 6"

"Sound good to me." said KC going on Riley's bed.

"Nope, off." Riley said.

"Oh, come on, Riley, be a pal." KC gave him the puppy dog eyes.

"Oh...come on, not this again...you with the eyes and, AH! Okay, fine, but just one more time." Riley got on the bed and sat next to her.

"Geez, what's with him?" whispered Sam to Zack.

"It's love, dude. Can make a man crazy." replied Zack.

"I heard that!" Riley yelled. KC and Jackie started laughing.

"Let's just watch the movie." KC said when she was done laughing. 2 and a half hours later, the team decided to go to the pool. About 15 minutes later, Jackie, Sam, and Zack were on their way.

"We'll see you guys there." said Zack on his way out.

"Cool." said Riley getting his towel. As he got out of his room, he saw KC, back turned, texting. He decided to have a little fun. He ran up to her and picked her up.

"I'm the Jersey Devil!" he yelled with a deep voice.

"Oh my gosh! Riley, I'm going to kill you!" KC screamed. Riley ran off towards the door to the pool. He ran at full speed through the door and jumped in the pool. KC tried to stop but slipped and fell into the cold water.

"I can't swim." said KC trying to swim.

"Oh, no." Riley swam over to her and tried to pick her up, but she grabbed his arm and turned him over.

"Gotcha." she said laughing.

"That was evil, you are evil." Riley laughed. They were splashing each other until someone came to them.

"Having fun?" asked Sam.

"Uh, we were just..." Riley said backing up.

"Don't worry, I'm kidding." Sam said. "Come on, we're all at the hot tub." Sam walked off towards Jackie and Zack.

"Sorry I scared you." Riley apologized.

"It's okay. Now I know what to expect when out there." KC said.

"Hey!" yelled Zack. "You 2 coming or what?" Riley and KC swam to the step of the pool. Riley, trying to ber a gentleman, held out his hand hoping that KC would take it. KC took his hand, but, as another prank, pulled him back into the water. She got out laughing and Riley followed her. They made their way to the group and sat in the hot water. A few minutes later, when KC turned her head, she thought she saw something fly into the tree. Immediately she got scared.

"KC," said Jackie, "you alright?"

"I thought I just saw...never mind." she said.

"Ah, your hallucinating. You're probably just scared." Then, a girl, with long scratches on her arm, walked towards them.

"That was no hallucination, my friend. What she saw was the devil." said the girl.

**A/N: Who's the girl, what does she have to say"...if only I knew. Just kidding! Please review!**


	5. A True Encounter

As the girl with the long scratches came to them, they started getting nervous.

"Who are you?" Riley asked.

"I, sir, am a victim of this creature's wrath. My name is Melanie, and I have become prey!" Melanie said.

"You know about this creature." asked Sam.

"Well, of course." said Melanie. "I will never forget that night! I'm taking a walk in the Pine Barrens and all of a sudden, something swoops down at me!"

"Do you know what it looked like?" asked Zack.

"Horse head, horns, red eyes, your regular Jersey Devil." replied Melanie.

"So what did the creature do?" asked Riley.

"As I'm running away from this thing, it grabs my hood and tries to lift me up!" Melanie yelled.

"What did you do?" asked Jackie.

"I unzipped my jacket and fell hard on the dirt. But it wasn't finished with me yet, it swoops down again and I feel a piercing pain coming from my arm! I didn't have time to see how much damage was caused. I ran out of the woods and the creature left me alone." Melanie concluded.

"So you're saying that the Jersey Devil attacked you just because you walked in the Pine Barrens?" asked KC.

"Did I stutter?"

"That's some encounter."

"Gets better every time I tell it."

"Are you sure it was the creature?"

"If it wasn't, I wouldn't have these scratches on my arm!" Melanie showed them the deep cuts and the team was shocked. "So since then, people have never walked in there to find this thing, until today."

"You know we're looking for this thing?" asked Jackie.

"Of course, it's going around the whole town." Melanie said.

"News travels fast." said Sam.

"Well, it's not every day a group would just waltz in looking for this thing. Anything else you wanna know?" Melanie asked.

"No," said KC a little scared, "that's all."

"Okay, good luck." Melanie said as she walked off. About 15 more minutes passed and they all decided to leave the hot tub and back to their rooms. After they all showered and got dressed, they decided to go to a restaurant for dinner..

"We'll be in the lobby." said Jackie heading out with Sam and Zack.

"Okay." said KC. Riley was still in his room so KC decided to text one of her friends while she waiting for him. When Riley came out of his room, he grabbed KC's hand and started running.

"Riley, where are we going?" KC asked running.

"It's a surprise." Riley said. They ran around a corner and Riley ran through a door.

"Riley," KC said, "we're not allowed in here. Staff members only."

"No one has to know." Riley said running up the steps.

"Riley, you're crazy." Then, Riley opened another door what it led to was the hotel rooftop.

"I may be crazy, but look at the view." What they both saw was the sunset over the trees of the Pine Barren. KC gasped in surprise, it was so beautiful.

"Wow, Riley, it's beautiful."

"Yeah," Riley said looking at her, "beautiful." KC looked up at him and they looked into each others eyes. Riley leaned in, slowly, their lips were centimeters apart, but then, the door opened, it was Sam.

"Guys, we're ready to...did I interrupt something?" Sam asked.

"No." Riley said backing up. "Nothing happened."

"Okay, I just came to tell you that we're ready to leave."

"Okay, we're coming down." Riley looked at KC and mouthed, "I'm sorry.". But instead of leaving right away, he took her hand. "Come on, Case, we have a big day tomorrow." They walked out the door hand in hand.


	6. The Talk

Dinner was quiet between KC and Riley, except for a few stray comments from Jackie and Zack. They were all nervous about the next day when they hunt for the creature.

"KC," Riley said, "you okay?" KC didn't answer, she looked like she was about to cry. Riley chose to leave her be. When they left the restaurant, they drove back in silence, except when Riley turned on the radio.

"So...the investigation tomorrow." said Sam trying to break the silence.

"Yeah, man, I'm nervous." said Zack.

"Ah, don't worry." said Jackie. "We'll be fine as long as we stick to the trail. Besides, I've mapped it out and it leads back to the church."

"That's good." said Riley. KC didn't say anything. When they all got back to the hotel, they decided to watch "The Hangover".

"I think I'll skip the movie tonight, guys." said KC.

"You sure?" asked Sam.

"Yeah, I, uh, got some things to take care of." she said going in her room.

"Okay." said Riley. He stared out the door for a couple more minutes until Sam had him lose his concentration.

"We'll be in our room." said Sam walking in with Zack.

"Meet you there in a minute." said Jackie. She took out her room key and peered in her room. She saw KC outside on her room balcony. Riley saw KC and he felt guilty. "Why don't you go talk to her?" Jackie whispered.

"What do I talk about?" Riley whispered.

"I don't know, ask her why she's all sad. Make her feel better."

"I already took her on the roof with the sunset, I can't top that."

"Well, think of something." Jackie said. Riley mouthed, "I don't know." Jackie was pointing to KC and Riley was resisting her gestures. "Come on, she's your best friend."

"Alright, alright, I'll do what I can." said Riley.

"Good, see you in a few." said Jackie going into Zack and Sam's room. Riley took a deep breath, brushed the dust off his shirt, fixed his hair and walked in the room. KC didn't notice him come out on the balcony. Riley stood at the rail next to her. KC saw him and turned her head.

"Wow," Riley began, "what a sunset we had earlier. Reminds me of summer vacation, which reminds me of our first investigation. So many memories are kept in summer that you just wanna go back to them." KC ignored him. "KC, I'm sorry about what happened on the roof."

"It's not that." KC replied finally.

"Oh, okay, well then, what's the matter...oh." Riley said after he realized. "KC, buddy, I know how you're feeling about tomorrow, and I'm tired of repeating it. We're all scared, it's not just you."

"Riley, you can look me in the eye and tell me that, but the feeling will not change. You saw what happened on that "Lost Tapes" show, people died. I don't wanna lose you guys. I'm freaked out, no, wait, I'm more than freaked out, I'm petrified!" She leaned back on the rail, Riley was really guilty now.

"Look, if it makes you feel any better, I'm freaked out too."

"Riley, stop trying to make me feel better."

"No, I'm serious, I was scared before I even brought it up."

"You were?"

"Yeah, I thought I might lose you." He hugged her tightly.

"Oh," KC smiled, "then I guess we're on the same page, huh?"

"Oh, big time." Riley said letting her go.

"Hey, you know what?"

"What?"

"By the time we're done, I bet that thing would want to leave the country." Riley laughed.

"'Cause nobody messes with the skeptic. Come here, you!" He grabbed her and started nooging her.

"No, no, no. Riley! Ha, ha, ha!" Riley let her go and she started chasing him. KC ran into his arms and he spun her around. When he stopped spinning, he left their foreheads touching. "Riley, we're pals, right?"

"Right."

"And we'll always be there for each other, right?"

"As always." Again, he leaned in slowly, they could feel their breath brushing their faces, their lips were centimeters apart, then, Riley closed the gap between them. They broke apart a few seconds later and saw Jackie, Sam, and Zack at the dor.

"This is better than the movie." said Zack eating popcorn. Jackie laughed and rollled her eyes.

"You guys gonna watch the movie?" asked Jackie.

"Yeah, we'll be right there." said Riley taking KC's hand.

"Alright, let's go." said Sam leaving for the room. Jackie and Zack followed him and KC and Riley follwed behind them. Outside, there was a full moon, and across it, a winged creature flew across it.

**A/N: I do not own "The Hangover". Please review!**


	7. Investigation Day

The next morning, it was investigation day. The team was nervous, but tried to make the best of the time they had. Especially KC and Riley. They slept like 2 rocks on Riley's bed with Zack spread out on the couch, and with Sam and Jackie on Sam's bed. Then, at 8:00am, the radio blasted rock music. Riley thought last night that it would wake them up, it worked.

"Whoa!" Riley yelled falling to the floor. KC stretched her arm and turned to alarm off. She rolled over to Riley's side and looked down at him. "Why do I keep falling off beds?"

"I don't know, but it is kinda funny." KC replied laughing.

"Watch it, Costonis, maybe I should leave you in the woods alone." Riley said jokingly.

"You wouldn't."

"Oh, I would." he said getting back on the bed and kissing her forehead, KC blushed. She grabbed the pillow and threw it at Sam and Jackie.

"Guys, get up, we gotta go soon." KC said as she threw the pillow. The pillow hit Sam in the face.

"Ow, why are we getting up so early?" he asked taking the pillow out of his face.

"Because, we have to set up cameras in the church, set up cameras in the Pine Barrens, and meet our guide. This is gonna take all day." Riley replied.

"That's true." Jackie yawned. "Zack, come on, we gotta go soon." She nudged him until he got up. Zack finally got off the couch. KC and Jackie went into their rooms to change. When they all came out of their rooms, showered and dressed, they went to the restaurant for breakfast. While they were down there, Jackie took down the laptop to do more research on the creature.

"Haven't you done enough research?" KC asked laughing.

"There's always room for more information. Besides, this is a pretty big thing we're getting ourselves into." Jackie replied.

"Big time." said Zack. After the waiter finished taking their orders and ate, they all went back to their rooms, got the gear, and drove to the church. When they got there, they ran into Pastor Barry.

"Hello, everyone." greeted Barry. "Nervous?"

"A little." said KC.

"Don't worry, come with me." He led the team to the front of the church and showed them the trail. "Stay on this path, and you'll always find your way back here. Oh, and watch out for Erica, she's been really on edge today." Barry whispered.

"Thank you, sir, we'll keep an eye out." said Riley. "Okay, let's set up some cameras!" They all went back to the car, got the cameras, and set them up. Riley set up one on the altar, KC set up one in the aisle, Jackie set one up by the spiral staircase that led to the bell tower, and Sam and Zack set one up outside of the church.

"We're not setting up Base Camp?" KC asked.

"No, we're gonna spend most of our time in the Pine Barrens, so there's no need." Riley replied.

"Okay." KC replied nervous.

"Should we go in the woods now to set up the rest of the cameras?" asked Jackie.

"Yeah," said Riley, "let's go." When they all left the church, they all stood outside the Pine Barrens. "Now before we go in there, I want you guys to promise me, that if you hear anything, see something weird, or actually see this creature, I want you to tell the rest of the group on the walkies and run for your life, get back to the church and we'll meet you back there. Remember, just follow the path." The team agreed and Riley passed out the walkie talkies, he knew this probably won't end well. As they all went into the woods, KC was on her own, she stuck to the path but was really scared of what might happen. As she put the camera on a log, she thought she heard something move behind the bush.

"Hello?" she asked. The rustling continued, she was looking all over to the source of the sound, till out of the corner of her eye, she saw what looked like horns that were not camouflaged from the bush. "AH!" she screamed. Riley heard her scream and ran to her as fast as he could. He got to where she was.

"KC, what happened?" he asked frantic.

"I saw something." she replied. She looked at the bush and the horns disappeared, she looked all over for what she saw and found nothing. "Something was here, I'm not joking."

"Okay, okay, calm down, everyone's done and we're all heading back to the church. We're gonna meet the guide at 5:00 and this will be over before you know it." he said. "Let's go." When they got back to the church, everyone was already in the car.

"Why'd you scream, KC?" asked Sam.

"I thought I saw horns, like part of the description of the Jersey Devil." KC replied.

"You sure?" asked Jackie.

"I know what I saw, guys, I'm not trying to scare you." KC replied sternly.

"We get it. Just wanted to make sure." said Zack. As they drove from the church, it would a 2 hour drive until they meet their guide to help them. On top of one of the trees, glowing red eyes were seen from one of the branches, and the horns that KC saw.


	8. An Attack

After a couple hours through traffic, the team finally made their way into the crowded city. Driving through old fassion streets that looked like they were back in time in the days of the 1700's, to the modern day streets of today. They stopped in front of a building that their guide said that she'd be there.

"Is this the place?" KC asked.

"Yeah." Riley replied. "She should be here." When they went through the double- doors, they got to a customer service desk. "We're looking for an Amanda, she's our guide for going into the Pine Barrens."

"Oh, yes, you're the ghost hunting team." said the man. He picked up the phone and dialed a speed dial number. "Amanda, the team's here."

"I'm coming out." said Amanda over the phone. Down the hall, an office door opened, and out came 16- year old girl. "Thanks, Charlie." she said. She looked at the team and saw their confused expressions. "Hello?"

"Are you Amanda?" Sam asked confused.

"Yes. Why, were you expecting someone else?" Amanda asked just as confused as they were.

"We thought you would be a lot older." said Zack.

"Oh, yeah, I get that a lot." Amanda said realizing why they were confused. "Don't worry, I've been a guide before, you're not gonna die tonight, well...I don't know that for sure, but, look, let's just get this show on the road!" She went out the double- doors.

"Did you know she was that young?" asked KC.

"Nope." said Riley.

"Can we trust her?" asked Jackie.

"Of course we can trust her!" Riley said. Then, Amanda came back through the doors.

"Is there a problem?" she asked.

"No, we're just fine." Riley replied. Amanda shrugged her shoulders and went back outside. "Come on, guys, we gotta go." Riley said. The team followed him back to the car and Amanda was in her own. Riley drove off having Amanda following him.

"Do you even know where she wants us to go, or do we go where ever we want?" Jackie asked.

"well, over the phone she said that where she first encountered the creature, is a place where everyone else has mostly seen it." Riley said. "So she's the only one who knows what they're doing, she says that it follows the church path and we'll be just fine."

"I hope." KC mumbled.

"What'd you say, KC?" asked Zack.

"Nothing, nothing at all." KC said quickly trying not to be negative. After a couple more hours, they made their way to the front of the church, when they got out, Riley got the rest of the cameras, Jackie got the thermals, and Sam got the voice recorders. Amanda parked behind them and got out of her car.

"KC, B- Roll for the show." said Riley turning a camera on.

"Oh, yeah, right." KC said taking the camera.

"Okay," Riley said speaking into the camera, "what we have here, is a thermal that can detect temperature changes, we also have night vision cameras that I'm holding in my hands, and voice recorders to catch any E.V.P. And here comes our guide right now."

"Hey," said Amanda waving into the camera, "okay, you guys ready to start hunting?"

"I guess." said Sam nervous.

"Don't worry about it, we'll be fine." said Amanda. When they were about to walk in the woods, the church door opened and out came Erica. She was staring at them and pointing at them.

"Stay away!" she said. Riley looked at the team and kept walking into the woods.

"Guys," he whispered, "let's go." KC looked back at Erica and she kept on repeating "Stay away!". KC saw that she was getting left behind and ran towards the rest of the group. "Now, no matter what happens out here, all of us have to stick together." Riley said firmly. The team knew at an instant he wasn't kidding. This was a really dangerous thing they were getting themselves into.

"So, Amanda, what's your back round when it comes to the Jersey Devil, like did you expect it or...?" Sam asked.

"Well," Amanda said pointing her bright flashlight at every tree, "I never believed in the Jersey Devil until I came face to face with it. And all I saw from it was those piercing red eyes. I swear, I got scared and ran for it. After that, I became a guide to get what I once saw on tape. Been looking for it ever since."

"How did you feel when you saw it?" Zack asked.

"Hot a-and scared. I don't really like talking about it." Amanda said getting worried. After a half hour of walking, Jackie stopped dead in her tracks and put her head to her forehead.

"Jackie, you okay?" asked KC.

"I don't know, I just feel really hot and light headed." Jackie replied stuttering.

"Can you go on?" Riley asked.

"Yeah, yeah I can last, I think." Jackie replied removing her hand from her forehead. They kept walking for another hour until they came to a wide, tall tree in the middle of the Pine Barrens.

"This is it." said Amanda standing in front of the tree. "This is where I saw it." Riley looked around with the night vision camera and came with nothing.

"I'm not getting anything on the night vision." Riley said disappointed.

"Have you tried the thermal?" KC asked.

"Let's give it a shot." Riley replied giving the night vision to KC and taking the thermal. As he looked around with it, he saw that everyone was really red with little white spots. "Whoa, KC you're really hot, no pun intended, I swear." KC put her hand to her forehead. He looked around more with it and saw that even everyone else had the same thing KC had. "Holy crap, you're all really hot." Then, out of nowhere, something swooped down at them with a blood curdling screech. They all dropped to the ground immediately.

"That's it! That's the thing! That's the thing I saw!" Amanda screamed looking at the sky with her flashlight. Riley looked around more with the thermal and caught nothing.

"I'm not getting anything!" Riley yelled. "KC, give me the night vision, and Jackie, do some Call and Response." Riley got the night vision from KC and as Jackie crawled over to Riley to obtain the recorder, she felt a strong force knock her down with another blood curdling screech.

"Something knocked me down!" Jackie screamed.

"What?" Sam asked freaked out.

"I'm not joking, something knocked me down!" she screamed again.

"I don't see anything!" Riley said waving the camera around. Amanda stood up helping Zack, Sam, and Jackie up.

"Riley, we have to get out of here. If we get back to the church we'll be safe." Amanda said panicked. Riley stood up and help KC to her feet.

"Just, hold on," Riley said walking around where they were, "I wanna know what's going on."

"We don't have time!" Zack screamed. Right as he finished that sentence, they heard KC scream. When they looked to where she last was, she was gone.

**A/N: OMG! What happened to KC????? Stay tuned to find out! Please Review!**


	9. The House

"KC!" screamed Jackie running around in circles looking for her. "KC, where are you?"

"KC!" they all screamed.

"Do you see her?" Zack asked.

"No!" Sam shouted. "KC!"

"Jackie, was she next to you?" Amanda asked. Jackie, blinded by her fear, didn't pay attention. "Was she next to you?" Amanda screamed.

"Yeah, she was right here!" Jackie shouted. "KC!" Riley ran away from the group holding the night vision camera. He looked at every tree scared out of his mind. After a couple yards of searching, he found KC crouched down by the trunk of a tree and she looked petrified.

"Guys! Guys, I found her she's over here!" Riley shouted. He went over to her side and gave her a tight hug. "KC, oh my gosh, I thought I lost you!"

"KC, you're okay!" Jackie said running to her.

"KC, what happened?" asked Sam.

"What took you?" asked Sam.

"Was it the creature?" asked Amanda. KC, still terrified by the attack, just nodded "yes" slowly.

"R-Riley, we h-have to g-go. We have to go now!" KC yelled. Amanda looked around for the trail back to the church but couldn't find it.

"We have to get back to the trail!" Amanda yelled. Then, something swooped down again and they all dropped to the ground.

"We don't have time to look!" Zack screamed.

"Riley, please tell me you have a plan." Jackie said scared.

"Oh, yeah, I do. RUN!" Riley said helping KC up and running. The rest got up quickly and tried to keep up with Riley and KC.

"Riley, slow down!" Zack yelled from behind. Riley could only hear it faintly.

"You're going too fast!' Sam shouted. Riley looked around with the night vision camera and saw the shadow of the creature behind them.

"It's chasing us!" Jackie screamed. Riley stopped dead in his tracks when he saw an old run down house in front of them. With the rest of the group not being able to see in front of them, they ran into Riley and KC having them all fall to the ground.

"Riley where are we?" KC asked getting up and helping Jackie and Amanda.

"I don't know." Riley said looking at the house. "But only one way to find out." Riley went to the house and tried to open the door.

"Riley, what are you doing?" Sam asked. "We could get arrested for breaking and entering." Then, they all heard another blood curdling screech and saw the creatures red eyes a few yards away from them.

"We don't have a choice!" Riley yelled. He managed to open the door and he all motioned everyone in the house. "Come on, come on, come on!" Riley yelled. They all scrambled in their house unaware of their surroundings. They look around the abandoned home and saw no one or anything in their presence.

"Hello?" Amanda asked. "Anyone here?" No answer. Riley took the camera and video taped a room that he walked into. He looked around with the camera and found dry blood stains on the old, broken bed sheets, and claw marks on the walls every few feet.

"No." Riley whispered.

"Riley," KC asked, "where are you?"

"Guys, we have to get out of here!" Riley yelled running out of the room.

"Dude, what are you talking about?" Sam asked.

"There's no time to explain!" Riley shouted.

"Yes, there is!" Amanda yelled. "Where are we?"

"We're in it's old home! This is Mother Leeds' place! The Jersey Devil's home!" Riley shouted panicked.


	10. History Repeats Itself

"Please tell me you're joking." Jackie pleaded.

"Would I joke about something like this?" Riley asked.

"He's right." Amanda said feeling the claw marks. "I know these claw marks anywhere." The team stayed silent for another few seconds, not sure of what they're going to do to get out of that house.

"We have to get out of here." Sam said. "Through the front door, if we make it, we can probably head back to the church!" As they looked at the front door, something slammed into it, knocking it off its hinges.

"No time!" KC shouted. They were looking around frantically for a way out.

"There's probably a back door somewhere!" Riley screamed. As they looked around, they saw the shadow of a wing by the door. Riley grabbed a plank of wood on the dusty floor. "All of you, go! I'll hold it off!" Riley screamed.

"What?" asked KC scared.

"You heard me, go!"

"I'm not leaving you!"

"Just go, now!" Riley shouted running out the door. KC was about to run after him until Zack grabbed her sleeve.

"KC, come on!" Zack yelled running. KC looked back at the door but then ran to catch up with the group. She ran into a room south of the house that looked like a shed for farm tools. As she looked around for a place to hide, she was grabbed by the hood and pulled into a tight space.

"AH!" she screamed. But then, someone put their hand over her mouth, it was Jackie.

"KC, hush." Jackie whispered. Sam got out from the tight space and went to the back door. He looked through the peep hole and saw Riley swinging the wood at the creature and he hit it a few times.

"Get him, Riley!" Sam whispered. Then, Riley got kicked in the stomach by what looked like a hoof. Riley let go of the wood and collapsed on the ground. "Uh oh." Sam said. He ran back to the tight space and squeezed his way in there.

"What happened?" KC asked.

"You don't wanna know." Sam replied. Then, like at the speed of light, the back door was brought off its hinges. KC and Jackie screamed in terror.

"Shush, shush." Zack repeated. They were breathing hard, waiting for what might come through the door. Then, 2 hooves walked in, upright, like a human, it was growling out of anger. Then, it let out a roar, very carefully, the team peered out and, with the moon light shining down, they all saw the face of the Jersey Devil.

**A/N: Sorry for the shortness. I promise the next chapter will be longer...I hope :P**


	11. The Creatures Wrath

The team gasped in horror of what the creature looked like. KC and Jackie hid their heads in their hands, Amanda just stared, and Zack and Sam were to scared to even move. The creature looked away and Sam looked to the side, he saw a door creaked open and he thought that if they were quiet enough, they could get out of that house and leave. He nudged Zack who nudged Amanda. They saw what was going on and got KC and Jackie's attention. They both pointed to the door and they got the whole plan from there. Sam took the first step to try and get out of the tight space. He succeeded and creaked the door open a little more and went through it.

"Okay, come on, sh, now, sh." he whispered helping the rest out. "Okay, come on." After they all got out, it was KC's turn, she crept out of the tight space, but her jacket sleeve got caught by a rusty nail. She tried to get out of it until it ripped and she fell with a thud. The creature heard the noise and looked over its jet black wings. He saw KC and she tried to give it an innocent smile. It roared with anger. "RUN!" Sam shouted. He, Jackie, Zack, and Amanda ran but KC was too scared to move. The creature ran towards her at full speed.

"KC!" Jackie screamed. KC finally snapped out of it and tried to crawl over to the door, but the creature already got to her. He used his sharp claws and grabbed her hood lifting her up.

"AH!" KC cried. She struggled anyway she could to get out of it's grasp, but nothing helped. Then, she felt more weight come from the creature. "What the-?" she asked herself. She looked back and saw Riley, alive, on the creatures back hitting it with the wood. It shook Riley off and he fell to the ground. Riley quickly got up and kept hitting the creature.

"What do we do?" asked Sam by the door.

"We have to help!" shouted Amanda.

"How?" Zack asked. Amanda then saw a sharp rock on the ground and tested its sharpness.

"I'll show you how." she said running towards the creature. She ran at full speed and stabbed the creatures arm with the rock. The creature roared with anger and pain and let KC go. She fell hard on the dusty floor but was able to get up and run. Amanda followed close behind. The creature turned to Riley, thinking it was him to stabbed him. Riley ran around the creature and jumped on him. He put the plank over his head and choked him pressing harder on the creatures neck. After a few seconds, Riley saw that the creature was running out of air and was about to fall to the ground. Riley jumped off its back and ran towards the group, the creature collapsed to the ground.

"Guys, let's go!" Riley yelled. He ran out the door towards the foggy air with the others trying to keep up. A few minutes later, Riley saw that the group was beside him, but felt like he left one behind. About a few yards back, KC was alone, she couldn't see through the fog. With Riley, he had the church in his sights, but was distracted when he thought he heard a cry for help.

"Riley!" cried a familiar voice. Riley gasped when he figured out it was KC. With KC, she was going in circles trying to figure out where everyone went. "Riley, where are you?" she kept asking. Back at the house, the creature regained consciousness and flew out of the house towards KC's voice. With KC, she thought she heard a twig snap and she saw a figure running through the fog, she thought it was creature so she ran away, but it was Riley. Riley did his best to catch up and grabbed her hand. She looked at Riley and sighed with relief, but then, they both heard the creature give out a blood curdling screech. They ran at full speed and got to the rest of the group a couple yards farther. They found the path that lead to the church and followed it. About 15 minutes past and they were back at the church entrance. They all looked back and saw the creatures red eyes coming towards them.

"Get in, get in, get in!" Riley said rushing everyone. They all scrambled into the church and stopped dead in their tracks. "Everyone here?"

"Yeah, we're safe." Jackie said walking around seeing if everyone was here.

"Okay, good, now we have to get to Barry, tell him what we saw, and get the hell out of here." Riley said.

"Agreed." said KC petrified. They all started walking towards his office until around the corner, Erica came running out.

"I warned you to stay away!" Erica shouted. They all screamed and backed away from her.

"Stay away from us, stay away from us!" Amanda repeated. Then, a light came on and out came Barry.

"What is going on here?" Barry asked angry.

"The creature, we saw the creature, it's after us." Riley said trying to explain.

"Well, what the hell does it want? It usually leaves people alone once they leave the woods." Barry asked.

"It wants the girl." Erica said pointing to KC. Riley embraced KC protectively, shocked of what he just heard.


	12. The Debate Continues

The team stayed silent for a few seconds, shocked that their fellow team mate and friend was prey for this dangerous creature.

"No," Riley began, "you have to be wrong."

"I'm not wrong." Erica said."It has wanted me for years, now it has new prey."

"No, we are not gonna leave our friend here!" Jackie said.

"You don't have a choice." Erica said.

"Yes we do and we are not leaving her here." said Riley.

"Calm down, everyone, calm down." said Barry trying to restore order. Then, they all heard glass shatter and the creature came in through the window. They all dropped to the ground as it swooped down. "Let's all try to get to the altar, it's the safest place in the church!" Barry shouted. They quickly got up and tried to run to the altar but stopped every few feet when the creature would swoop down, mostly for KC. As the creature swooped down again for KC, it almost had her until Riley found a book on a chair and threw it at the creatures face, Riley succeeded and the creature flew back up. Riley grabbed KC's hand and they met up with the rest of the group on the altar.

"Are we all here?" asked Sam.

"Yeah, we are." Amanda replied.

"Does anybody see it?" asked Zack.

"No." Barry replied looking frantically. Then, out of the corner of Riley's eye, he saw Erica, not on the altar, in the middle of the aisle.

"Erica, get up here." Riley ordered. Erica stayed silent right where she was.

"Erica, you have to get up here." Amanda said. Then, Erica spoke up.

"The reason why the creature wants the girl is because she's young and vulnerable and...so is an old woman." Erica turned around and started walking up down the aisle.

"Erica, what are you doing?" Barry asked. "Erica, come back here!"

"Erica! Erica, stop! Don't go! Erica!" they all shouted repeatedly. Then, they heard another roar from the creature, it swooped down, not for KC, but for Erica. They all hid their faces not knowing what would happen. Then, when it was over, they looked at the aisle and Erica wasn't there. They heard another roar and out the window, flew the creature.

"Oh my gosh! Erica!" Barry screamed. Everyone looked at KC, she was trembling from what would've happened to her. She looked at Riley and he embraced her in a tight hug. She had her right to cry now. Jackie, Sam, and Zack came to her and all gave a group hug, leaving Barry and Amanda looking out the window into the night sky.

Erica's body has not been seen again since that night nor has her body been recovered. Amanda quit the guide business and started a team that roams the Pine Barrens still looking for the Jersey Devil. Riley vowed to never to put his friends in danger like this again and gave up cryptids for good. KC recovered from the attack a couple weeks later and is still the Case Manager of The Othersiders. Jackie still researches cryptids but will never look for one again. Zack looked over all the evidence, but could not find a single moment where the creature was visible. Sam lied on the website saying that they could not find the creature after hours of searching in the Pine Barrens. Though Jersey Devil sightings have been increasing each year, it leaves one question in our minds: Does it live among us?

This story is inspired by the possibility that hidden creatures exist.

The debate continues...

The End


End file.
